Marketing, advertising & media intelligence

It appears no cats were harmed in the making of Vodafone and DraftFCB's new TVC celebrating the launch of the telco's new TV service Red Home, and new fast internet plans, pitched as a reason for Kiwis to switch to fibre.

A ginger moggy appears unscathed in the ad, despite a simulation of an ultra-connected house where star of the commercial series James Rolleston detonates an explosive that showers the pet and its family in red paint.

The broadband plans are a 30 megabits per second offering, Ultra Fast 30, which costs between $95 and $119 for broadband and a home line, or $65-$89 for broadband only; and Ultra Fast 100 (100 megabits per second), costing between $125 and $149 for broadband and phone and $95-$119 for broadband.

Users then choose Vodafone TV's Freeview option, for which there's no content charge, or a Sky subscription, which costs $45 for the basic package, another $22 for movies and $26 for sport. The digital recorder rental is free with the new UFB plans for 80GB or more and with the Sky and Vodafone TV package.

Vodafone and Freeview say the launch is well timed with the switch to digital TV happening on 1 December.

The TV service also offers a choice of 150 channels and a choice of 36 pay per view movies for $7.95 for high definition and $6.95 for standard definition.

The movies are screened five or six times each day, but on demand viewing is on the roadmap, Vodafone says.

Not all Kiwis will be able to take up the offering. UFB fibre is set to reach 75 percent of New Zealanders in 33 towns and cities by 2019.

Initially the service will be available in parts of Auckland covering 200,000 homes, and in Wellington and Christchurch, where Vodafone says it can reach about 160,000 homes with its cable network.

The fibre plans will use Chorus and Northpower's networks. Vodafone says it's the only offering using Chorus' multicast capability, which allows the broadcast of several media streams to multiple users in a region. With the broadband stream separate, it won't affect the quality of the TV experience.

The ultrafast plans are available now with Vodafone TV set to launch on 1 November.

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On Monday, Whittaker’s launched its latest novelty chocolate-lolly mash up with a chocolatey answer to retro bakesale treat coconut ice. The Coconut Ice Surprise chocolate has a twist though, 20c from each block goes to Plunket – a charity which New Zealanders agree is a worthy cause. However, to relate the chocolate to the charity, Whittaker's has built the campaign around baby gender reveal parties, causing a backlash from the public who argue gender norms have expanded beyond blue for boys and pink for girls.

Genius From Elsewhere

1

With over 10,000 fires occuring in South Korea residential homes every year, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance has created a flower vase that doubles as a throwable fire extinguisher. The hope is it will raise awareness to the public safety issue of home fire safety.

2

Advertisers have stopped buying ads on YouTube after their ads appeared on children's videos where pedophiles had infiltrated the comment section.The New York Times investigates the comments.

3

The internet has been up in arms about a supposed 'Anti-LGBT' emoji, featuring a rainbow flag alongside the "no" symbol. However, according to Time, the emoji causing offence is actually "an unfortunate implementation of the standards that govern how text is displayed on our device".

4

This year, Super Bowl audiences were treated to a 45-second video of Andy Warhol eating a Burger King Whopper. It was certainly a campaign unlike any before, but did it work? Adweek takes a look.

5

As of 1 March, Queenslanders will be able to include one of five emojis alongside their licence places. The options—the laughing-crying face, the winking face, the sunglasses face, the heart-eyed face, or the classic smiley face—are courtesy of Personalised Plates Queensland.

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Why we like it: Infomercial-style ads take us right back to the glorious days of old when we were sick – but not too sick – home from school and got the sought-after opportunity to watch daytime TV. There was literally nothing greater in an eight-year-old's life. So for that reason, these ads get a big tick from us. There's humour, and, despite what often happens when radio hosts venture into a visual format, it doesn't miss the mark.

Who's it for: House of Travel by the in-house team

Why we like it: Who doesn't love when brands bring back a break-out star from one of their earlier campaigns? To be completely honest, we didn't recognise Lucy on first glance, but after a quick trip down memory lane, we placed her as Miss Lucy from that singing and dancing retro campaign House of Travel launched more than a decade ago. We like the continuity of this ad and watching a man choke on his drink after a snapback from a woman doesn't hurt either.

Who's it for: Joblist by Badger Communications

Why we like it: Sonia is a dead-set hero. We are introduced to her glamorous, visor-wearing face peering out from behind a freshly-levelled hedge and the next thing we know she's no ordinary arborist. We watch Sonia as she looks into that shrub's soul and reveals the schnauzer-shaped masterpiece of her own creation. We never knew we needed someone with Sonia's skill set in our lives, but now we know we do. Thank you Sonia for showing us the light.